Ask the Candidates about Education Funding

It's only nine weeks until Virginians go to the polls to elect a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. Every member of the the House of Delegates representing Loudoun is up for re-election and has a strong challenger. They're calling, showing up at back to school nights and knocking on your doors to ask for your vote. Don't forget to ask them about state education funding.

From Creigh Deeds, Democrat for Governor:

Raise teacher salaries to the national average. Virginia has some of the best teachers in the country, despite the fact that we do not compensate our teachers as well as other states do.

According to the Southern Regional Education Board, the average teacher salary in Virginia was $46,690 in the 2007-2008 school year, well below the national average of $52,308. Creigh will make sure that Virginia remains an attractive place to teach by working to raise Virginia’s teacher pay to the national average.

Governor Kaine found a way to protect K-12 education, and I will protect education in my budgets. Bob McDonnell, on the other hand, has pledged to take $5.4 billion from our schools to pay for roads.

Contrast this with Bob McDonnell, Republican for Governor:

Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Attorney General of Virginia, and Bill Bolling, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, announced today a bold education proposal that will dramatically increase money for Virginia's teachers and students by $480 million a year, without a tax increase.

But read the fine print from McDonnell's proposal. It doesn't provide more school funding. All it really does is put more restrictions on local school districts, telling them how to spend their funds. McDonnell's approach means less education funding, and more Richmond controls on your local school district. A one-size-fits-all approach that treats rural Galax county the same as suburban Loudoun County.